Building unit



June 4, 1929. BEMls 1,715,587

BUILDING UNIT Filed Dec- 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. F. BEMIS BUILDING NITJune 4,

4 Sheets-Sh 2.

Filed Dec. 2 25 A. -F. BEMIS BUILDING UNIT Julie 4, 1929.

Filed Dec- 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I Patented June 4, 1929.

UNITED STA TE'S PATENT oFF1 cE I ALBERT r. BEMIS, ornnw'rommessacnusn'rrs, ASSIGNOR To Burns mnusrnms ma, OFisosrommessacnusnrvrs, A. CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

-IBUILDI1VG- UNIT.

Applicationfiled December '2, 1925. Serial No. 72,675.

In my copending application, Serial No. 33,173, filed September 12, 1925I have described one manner in which standardized} units may be combinedto form a primary outline of a building, while in applications Nos-72,67 3, 72,67 and 72,678, filed of even date herewith, I have shownother Ways of fabricating primary outlines for buildings out ofstandardized units. The novel units disclosed in the present applicationmay be combined in the various manners described in the above identifiedapplications.

This invention relates more particularly to the provision ofstandardized buildin units which may be pre-formed in a manufac uringestablishment and rapidly assembled in situ with the minimum of time andlabor required for actual erection. These units'may be combined toformthe basis for any of the walls of a building such as side walls orpartitio'ns, like. A wide variety of materials may be used in themanufacture of such units, for ex-- am le metal, wood, or other fibrousmaterial sue as fiber board, (Qementitious material such as gypsum or Ptland cement, fibrous or granular substances comblned with a binder ofcementitious material such as strawboard, chip-board, fiber board, orthe combination of sand, cinders, or ashes, etc. with i a cementitioussubstance," or other combinations of these and other suitable materialsmay be used for the formation of the units described inthis application.

The specific embodiments of my invention shown herein are moreparticularly distinguished by the provision of a Hat outer face whichmay be aligned with similar faces of adjoining units either to form thefinish'of a wall, ceiling, floor, or roof of a building or: to form thebacking for the application of an outer finish such as stucco, plaster,Wall'- board, clapboards or the like. The utilization of tubular unitswith flat outer faces designed to be aligned with similar faces ofadjoining units not only has. the advantage of enabling a quickassemblyof the units. as explained in the applications identified above,but also of permitting the formation 50 of a finishing surface, or acontinuous surface for application of finishing material, at the sametime and with no greater effort.

Thus inaccordance with the present embodi- "ment of my invention, unitsmay be rapidly floors, fiat or pitched roots or the assembled andaligned in practically one operation, not'only to form the primaryoutline of a building, the finished surface therefor or a continuoussurface ready forthe immediate application of finishing materials. v

Many other advantages of my invention will appear to those familiar withthe art from a reading of the following description in conjunction withthe drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a structuralunit;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another form "of unit; I a

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a different unit;

a slightly dif Fig. 5 is' a similar view of ferent unit;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a wall formed of units such as shown inFig- 5;

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are each perspective views of structural units;

but also to provide either" Fig. 11 is a perspective view of anothertype of wall;

Fig-12 is a detail view; 0

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a modified wall construction Fig. 14 isa section new of an alternative detail of wall construction;

Fig. 15 is a similar view of another em bodiment;

Fig. 16 house;

Fig. 17 is a perspective detail view Fig. 18 is a section of a' roof andgirt assembly; and v I Fig. 19 is a perspective view of a portion of afioor..

In its preferred embodiment the invention comprises standardized unitsof the type illustrated more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2, whichpreferably have a length corresponding to some dimension of a room orbay, such as the height of a story or the width or length of a room.Such a unit consists of a tubular body portion 1 having a flat s'urfacedouter wall 2; it being understood that the term tubular body portions isapplied to an elongate hollow member of any crosssectional form,whether, for example, cylindrical, rectangular or trapezoidal, asillustrated in the various embodiments of the invention or otherwise.The hollowed body of the member 1 may be formed upon three sides by thesheet member 3 which has the inclined is a broken sectional view of a iwalls 4: and 5 connected by the wall 6 parallel to the flat surface 2.The flat surface 2 is preferably formed by a face of plank 7,

which may consist of fibrous or light cemen titious material, while thesheet 3 is preferably of metal, although various other suitablematerials may be used for either of these members- Any suitablefastening means such as screws may be used to secure the members 3 and 7together, while the nalhng strip 8 of Wood or other fibrous material maybe similarly secured upon the face 6 of the metal sheet 3.

The above described unit obviously may be combined with other like unitsin many various manners as suggested in this or in my copendingapplications, one installation being illustrated in Fig. 2 which shows afloor bullt up of a series of these units, thesurfaces 2 of planks 7forming a continuous finlsh 'for the ceiling of a lower story and thespaces between the metal portions 3 being filled with concrete orcementitious material 9,.while the upper faces of the wooden-strips 8are left uncovered to provide nailing surfaces for the application offloor boards 10 or the like. Obviously, these units may be combmedun asimilar manner to form walls or roofs wlth the strips 8 constitutingmeans for the attachment of laths, wall-board, metal sheathing or othermaterial; The wooden planks 7 may either form the finish of a wall or ofa roof of a building or these members may constitute a'suitable surfacefor the application of finishing material.

Fig. 3 illustrates a slightly d fferent embodiment of myinventionwherein the body portion of the tubular unit 10 has inclined walls 4 and5 as in Fig. 1,'but the walls 4, 5 and 6 are separate pieces or slabswhich may be formed of any suitable material such as wood or otherfibrous material, or of light cementitious material such as gypsum, orof fibrous or granular material combined with a cementitious binder.These units likewise may be combined in roofs, walls, or floors, theplanks 7 thereof providing continuous surfaces in the manner that hasbeen described, while the slabs 6 may form spaced aligned surfaces forthe attachment of roofing material, wall finish, floor-boards or thelike. Y

Figs. 4. 5 and 6 show other forms of struc tural units having similarcharacteristics and which may be formed of a similar material. but whichare distinguished by the fact that the tubular portion has substantiallyrectilinear Walls. The embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 also hasequally dimensioned continuous surfaces 13 and 14 extending upon eitherside thereof. Obviously these units maybe combined in various relationsin the manner that has been described above. The flanged surfaces 13and'14 of the unit shown in Fig. 5 are particularly adapted to holdwithin the hollow body portion is of light cementitious material. suchas gypsum, and serves to bind the walls of this unit together withoutthe necessity of depending wholly upon nails, or similar securing means.to penetrate the fiber board or the like. This construction isespecially advantageous with a substance which is not adapted to holdnails or screws firmly. 4

Fig. 8 shows another form of unit constructed in accordance with myinvention and having a cu'rved tubular body portion 19, which may becylindrical in form. with a flat surfaced portion 20 at one sidethereof. Obviously such a unit iswmore particularly adapted to floor orroof construction and may be combined with like units to form astructure quite similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2. Such a unit maybe formed of metal and wood, of various fibrous materials, ofcementitious .material, or of fibrous or granular material combined witha cementitious. binder, or of various combinations of such materials.

Fig. 9 shows titious material suitable material scribed. and which hascontinuous fiat sur-,

faces 21 upon either side and is provided with integral flanges havingflat surfaces 22' at the outervends are of a suitable size to provide anabutting area. for firmly holding the unity in proper uxtaposition withsimilar surfaces of adomlng units.

Fig. 10 shows of Fig. 3 but formed of metal or similar sheet materialand a slab of cementitious or fibrous material, the inclined walls'5 and6 of this unit joining in a curved portion to reinforce the sheetportion of the unit. unit may be combined with like or similar units inmany relations in the manner described in this and my (to-pendingapplications and is more particularly adapted to use where it isnotdesired to apply sheets orstrips of finishingmaterial to one side ofthe.

different means of combining the units may be used as suggested in myco-pending applia unit quite similar to that This IOU

thereof. Thesesurfaces 22 cations, or as shown in Figs 16, 17 and 19,wherein a foundation 42 is formed with an outer portion 43 having itsupper surface substantially above that of the inner portion to form arecess 44. Standardized units 41 which may be any of the typespreviously described, such as those shown in Fig. for example, are thenlaid with their end upon the foundation in order to form a basis for thelower floor of the building. Blocks 45 secured in a spaced row by a pairof metallic straps 46, or the like, (Fig. 17 are dispose'd in the endsof the tubular body portions of units 41, cementitious material beingpoured in the recess 44,forms a girt or sill 52 with monolithic portionsextending into the tubular recesses formed by the flanges between thebody portions of adjoining units 41.

Disposed upon the top of girt 52 and portion 53 of the foundation arethe Z-shaped' flash strip 57 and straps 56 similar to straps 46 andsecured to a seriesof blocks in a like manner. The blocks 45 engagethelower ends of vertical wall units 41, which may be similar to thefloor unitsl but have their outer walls extended upwardly as indicatedat 55. Disposed in the upper ends of the wall units 41 are blocks 65,which are secured to extension 66 of the lower surfaces of units 41",which define the floor for the second story. These extensions 66 may beof the full width of the units, or they may be restricted in width, asshown, in order to permit wall units to provide a girt member 60 havingmonolithic portions 59 extending into the recesses formed'by flanges 51of adjoining units 41 and also betweenthe wall units if desired. Anydesired number of stories may be erected in a similar manner. 1

It is evident that stucco 15, such as illustrated in Fig. 6, may beapplied to one or both of the surfaces of the wall units, certain spacesbetween or within which are filled with cementitious materials orconcrete; Thus a wall is provided which is formed of uprightroughsurfaced boards of cellular material united at intervals and havingc'oncretepoured therebetween and stucco applied to exposed surfacesthereof.

In order to construct a pitched roof of the form illustrated in Fig. 16,units 41",, similar in general form to those previously described, maybe disposed in an inclined position to form the basis for such a roofwith a series of blocks 45 inserted in their upper ends and individualblocks 61 fitted in their lower ends as shown. The outer surface 63 ofthese units are ejxtendeda'nd form an overhanging portion of the pitchedroof. The lower ends of the unit 41 may have their side walls notched toengage with key beams'70 extend-.

ing along the margin ofthe upper floor 68, while the upper ends of theunits rest updn the ridge member 69. Concrete may then be disposedbetween the upper ends of the units above member 69 to provide aconcrete ridge 6? having lateral extensions lying between the bodyportion. of units 41 and joining it .with a girt member 78 formed abovethe ends of the wall units. If desired all, or certain of these membersmay be formed in one operation to constitute a monolithic structure. Anattractive optional arrangement may be obtained by the use of a ratherwide ridge member 69, resulting in the provision ofa flat concreteridge.

Fig. 18 illustrates the provision of a girt 83, when the lower portionof a'pitched roof "is not adjacent a floor as' described above.

With this type of construction blocks 45, en-,

gaged in the upper ends of wall units 41, blocks 61 in the units 41,together with the extensions of the outer sides-of the wall units and ofthe units 41, serve to constitute a form for the pouring of girt83,'which may be connected by monolithic extensionswith the ridge in themanner previously described.

I While I have shown and described the in corporation of one type ofstandardized unit in a building construction, it may readily be seenthat many other types of units may be combined in a similar manner byasuitab1emechanical re-arrangement of parts, suchas the reshaping of theblocks 45 or the disposing of concrete about the units in an appropriatemanner.

Fig. 11 illustrates an alternative mode of wall or roof constructionwhich may be adopted with any of the forms of structural units describedin this application, but for purposes of convenient illustration, unitssuch as shown in Fig. 5 are shown in Fig. 11'. The flat surfaces ofthese unitsare beveled at their longitudinal edges as at 31. The beveledsurfaces 31 may form an attractive variat on in finish as in the case ofpanels 14, whlle upon the side of a wall forming the outer side or roofof a building, suitable means may be applied to. a'ffordadditionalweather protection. As shown in Figs. 11

and 12, tar paper 37 \or the like may be applied to the inner surfacesof adjoining flanges while metal flash strips 34 may be secured to thebeveled surfaces 31 inan suitable manner as by nails 35. "Preferablythese strips have a flat outer'face with inchned surfaces at either sidewhich have edges abutting the beveled portions 31 of ad o1n1ng slabs orpanels.

Another method of providing flash strips;

is shown in Fig. 14, wherein there is a flat strip 38 having a masticsubstance 32 inter posed between it and the beveledsurfaces.

Fig. 13 illustrates a modified design, wherein marginal flanges 36 areformed upon the faces 13 of the unit illustrated in Fig. 6. Such aflange has an outersurface substan= tially aligned with a similarsurface upon an adjoining unit, the two flanges being coveredby a metalstrip 39 having its margins se- 84 and 85 overlapping the inner andouter marginal surfaces respectively of the ad-.

joining walls of structural units. Such a strip'is preferably formed ofsheet metal as shown, although other modes of construction may be used.Upon assembly a member 83 has one side fitted to the ed e of the wall ofa unit and then the edge of the adjoining unit is engaged with the otherside of the strip, Many other ways of joining.

the flat surfaces of the units may be devised in accordance withconstructions in analogous locations, for example adj oiningflangeportions may be rabbeted to overlap each other or many equivalentexpedients may be used;

' Not only may the above described units be made of a wide variety ofmaterials, but obviously they may be combined with each other and theunits gescribed in my copending applications in many" difi'erent ways tosuit individual conditions.

and others preferable for floors or roofs.

Certain units may be more adaptable to wall construction Cement orconcrete may or may not be inter posed in various spaces within orbetween certain units. may not be applied to their outer surfaces. Theunits may be set in a continuous depression to form walls in the. mannerdescribed in copending applications Nos. 72,673, 72,674

or key'members, such as described in .appli-' units to the adjoiningstructure. Members designed to engage the inner surfaces of the ends oftubular portions may also be constructed after the manner described incopending applications No. 33,173 or No.

72,678 filed of even date herewith. These and Various othermodifications and expedients may be adopted in utilizing my invention inpractical construction.

I claim:

A building wall comprising outer and inner upright rough-surfaced boardsof cel-.

lular material united at intervals and having concrete between theopposing surfaces of the boar s, the exposed surfaces of the outerboards having a stucco finish directly applied thereto.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts,

this 30th day of October, 1925.

i ALBERT F. .BEMIS.

Finishing material may or cation No. 72,678 may be used to tie the

